Andrea Hayes-Jordan facts for kids

Andrea A. Hayes Dixon (born 1965) is an American surgeon. She is known for her important work in pediatric surgery, especially for children with rare cancers. She was the first pediatric surgeon to perform a special, life-saving procedure for children with a rare type of cancer. She also helped create a new way to study a type of bone cancer called Ewing's sarcoma. In 2002, she became the first African American female pediatric surgeon to be officially certified in the United States.

Today, Dr. Dixon is the Chairwoman of Surgery at Howard University Hospital. This means she leads the surgery department there.

Early Life and Education

Andrea Dixon was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. She went to Dartmouth College to study Religion. While there, she got a chance to work in a lab that studied leukemia, a type of cancer. This experience changed her path.

After college, Dr. Dixon went to Geisel School of Medicine. She first wanted to be a pediatrician, a doctor for children. But a mentor inspired her to focus on surgery instead. During her training at Stanford University, she studied pediatric surgery and decided that was the career for her.

Career Highlights in Surgery

After medical school, Dr. Dixon wanted to specialize in pediatric surgery. However, she was turned down by hospitals three times for their training programs. One surgeon even said that bringing in the first Black woman was too risky for his program.

Because of this, Dr. Hayes-Jordan went to a training program in Toronto. In 2002, she made history. She became the first Black female board-certified pediatric surgeon in the United States. She started working with children who had cancer at St. Jude's Hospital. Later, she focused specifically on abdominal cancers.

Pioneering Cancer Treatments

Six years later, Dr. Dixon developed a new model to study Ewing's sarcoma, a type of bone cancer that had spread. At the same time, she performed a groundbreaking surgery. She did the first cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for children with sarcomatosis. This was a huge step forward in treating these cancers.

By 2006, Dr. Dixon became the first surgeon in the United States to successfully use HIPEC on a child. This was a very long operation, lasting 12 hours. She carefully removed all the tumors. Then, she pumped a chemotherapy drug, heated to 103 degrees Fahrenheit, throughout the child's abdominal area. This special treatment helps kill any remaining cancer cells.

Leadership Roles and Recognition

In 2018, Dr. Dixon became the Chief of Pediatric Surgery at UNC School of Medicine. She was also named Surgeon-in-Chief at the North Carolina Children's Hospital. While in this role, she was chosen by President Donald Trump to join the National Cancer Advisory Board. This board advises the National Cancer Institute on cancer programs.

On September 25, 2019, Dr. Hayes-Jordan was honored with a special professorship. During the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, Dr. Dixon was appointed to the board of directors for the American Pediatric Surgical Association. She was also elected President of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons. The Triangle Business Journal recognized her as one of its 2020 Health Care Heroes. This award was for her amazing work as a surgeon, teacher, and leader.

Personal Life

Dr. Dixon is married to Philadelphia author Hugh Nichols Dixon Sr. She has two children.

See Also

• Pediatric surgery
• Cancer
• Chemotherapy